Overview

Heart failure (HF) remains a complex and costly disease to diagnose, treat, and manage over the long-term, and as a large proportion of the population ages, the prevalence of HF is expected to increase. Optimized guideline-directed medical therapy is not always achieved in clinical practice and patients continue to experience symptoms and hospitalization due to worsening HF, the definition of which continues to evolve to move beyond hospitalizations and include non-hospitalization events. 

This program is intended for cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, hospitalists, internists, primary care providers, emergency department physicians, clinical pharmacists and other members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team who are involved in the care of patients with HF.

HF is a complex disease associated with adverse outcomes and poor quality of life for patients. It is also a significant driver of hospitalizations and readmissions. Delays in diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and undertreatment are common as patients often see a multitude of healthcare providers. Yet, early recognition and treatment are critical to reducing morbidity and mortality associated with HF, particularly those with worsening HF and after recent HF hospitalization. There have been significant advances in treatment with new disease-modifying agents introduced. Despite the accumulating evidence and calls for guideline-directed medical therapy, this approach is underutilized and clinicians struggle to initiate and optimize therapy in clinical practice. In addition, many clinicians remain unaware of novel strategies for patients with worsening HF or after recent HF hospitalization.

Upon completion of this activity, learners will be able to:
• Describe unmet needs and clinical practice gaps for patients with worsening HF and implications for treatment burden and quality of life 
• Identify prognostic factors to classify the severity of HF events
• Evaluate the effectiveness of novel therapies for patients who continue to experience symptoms and hospitalization due to worsening HF
• Formulate clinical practices to ensure that patients with progressive HF are receiving timely and optimal treatment per guideline recommendations

• Defining and Classifying Worsening HF
  • Pathophysiology
  • Current definition and limitations
  • Risks of HF and worsening events
• Burden of HF and Worsening Events
  • Clinical and economic burdens
  • Morbidity and mortality
• Optimizing GDMT in HF
  • Guideline recommendations
  • Mortality risk reduction
  • Rapid initiation
• Additional Care Strategies to Prevent WHF
  • Add-on therapy for worsening events
  • Patient selection
  • Efficacy and safety of add-on vericiguat
• Multidisciplinary Integrated Care Pathways
  • Rapid initiation of GDMT
  • Role of the pharmacists
  • Remote monitoring approaches

Provided by the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL).

Supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.

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